Cadillac to Add Small Car to Lineup

GM will expand its exclusive Cadillac only assembly plant by adding an all-new small car there, the automaker announced this week. The new vehicle will add 600 jobs to the Lansing Grand River plant in Lansing, Mich. GM says it will announce the name and look of the vehicle as well as when it will launch the car at a later time, likely at the L.A. or Detroit auto shows.

The new Cadillac will be a small car, according to GM’s CEO Dan Akerson. It’s an interesting move for GM’s flagship brand, which lacks a proper flagship vehicle to compete with the Lexus LS, Mercedes-Benz S-Class or BMW 7 Series, but a smaller car also makes sense. It's unknown if the smaller car will be based on the Chevy Volt like the Cadillac Converj concept shown above.

While the CTS is Cadillac’s current base sedan entry, the vehicle is actually a lot larger than its BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Mercedes C-Class competitors, which are technically compact sedans. In fact, the CTS is more than a foot longer than the BMW 3 Series; it nearly matches the exterior dimensions of the BMW 5 Series. Because of its price and smaller interior dimensions, the CTS' competitors are by and large the popular smaller sedans from the German brands.

By the time the new smaller sedan is released, the CTS could get an overhaul, as well. Add the anticipated large XTS flagship and the brand would have a trio more in line with the 3, 5 and 7 Series from BMW; the A4, A6 and A8 from Audi; and C-, E- and S-Class from Mercedes.